Food Production

The year 2002 saw mounting concerns over global food supplies as harvests declined in many areas of the world. North America, Africa, and Australia experienced drought that significantly reduced crop output. Also contributing to the production decline in Africa was continued political instability. Total grain output in the United States fell 25,900,000 metric tons, or 8%, owing to drought. Output in other countries fell 52,070,000 metric tons, or 2.6%. With global consumption nearly constant, ending stocks fell owing to the lower output. World output of oilseeds fell slightly, less than 1%, because the reduction in U.S. output was offset by increases elsewhere. World meat output rose 2.9% in 2002. The tightening global supply-and-demand balance caused strong price increases for major agricultural commodities.

Food Aid

By the early summer of 2002, concerns about the possibility of famine for over 14 million people in southern Africa had emerged. The countries most seriously affected included Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Mozambique. By fall 2002 roughly nine million more people in Ethiopia and Eritrea were forecast to need food assistance from external sources. While drought was a factor in all countries, other forces contributed. In much of the region, a shortage of land had led to overuse and degradation of the soil. While fertilizer could compensate for the loss in soil productivity, most small farmers could not afford to buy fertilizer at commercial prices, and international donors had reduced their donations of fertilizer in recent years. Political issues often magnified the food crisis. In Zimbabwe land reform directed at large commercial white-owned farms contributed to the decline in production, while restricted access to food by members of the political opposition worsened the food crisis. Malawi’s government was accused of having sold its national emergency grain stock prior to the crisis. Poor transportation and marketing systems compounded the effects of drought by slowing delivery of food aid and, over the longer run, critical agricultural inputs such as seed and fertilizers.

Food assistance was also slowed in southern Africa by concerns that American grain offered for food relief contained genetically modified (GM) corn (maize). Thousands of tons of aid were initially rejected or locked away from the starving population. Recipient countries were further concerned that GM corn would be retained for seed and thereby introduce manipulated genes into future crops, a situation that would hamper exports to Europe, where there was resistance to importing GM corn. Eventually, Mozambique and Zimbabwe accepted offers by donor countries to grind the corn before distribution so that it could not be used as seed, but Zambia continued to resist the aid on the grounds that GM corn jeopardized the safety of the population. In Angola continued internal strife threatened an estimated half million people as refugees were forced to abandon their fields.

Other countries faced famine as well. North Korea continued to require food assistance despite domestic reforms to raise prices and salaries sharply. The World Food Programme had been feeding six million people in North Korea and generally enjoyed access to most regions of the country. Especially toward the end of the year, concerns over North Korea’s nuclear-weapons-development program increased the reluctance of donor agencies to provide food aid. U.S. pursuit of its “war on terrorism” on the territory of Afghanistan affected the return to normalcy of agricultural production, so the country still had to rely on food assistance from the international community.

International Organizations

The World Food Summit organized by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was held in Rome, June 10-13, with the purpose of renewing the world’s commitment to reduce hunger. Delegates approved a measure reaffirming a 1996 resolution to cut the number of hungry in the world by more than half by 2015. Delegates from less-developed countries were critical of subsidization of farmers in developed countries for depressing world commodity prices. Developed countries also came under fire for maintaining import barriers on agricultural products that denied farmers in less-developed areas access to richer markets. Calls were made to increase agricultural aid from the existing $11 billion to $24 billion. Another criticism that was voiced was that most industrialized countries had not sent top leaders to the summit (only Spain and host Italy were represented by their prime ministers) and did not seem to take the meeting very seriously.

Multilateral trade liberalization negotiations launched in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001 continued through 2002, and some progress was registered. In August the U.S. Congress granted Pres. George W. Bush trade promotion authority (TPA). The president was again given the go-ahead to negotiate trade deals subject to a “yes-no” vote in Congress. The president’s TPA had expired eight years earlier, and the U.S. negotiating position was weakened because other states were reluctant to negotiate with the president when Congress could subsequently change any agreement he approved.

During 2002 several countries presented their initial negotiating positions for the Doha Round. The U.S. proposed cutting tariffs on agricultural products to an average of 15%, expanding market access commitments by 20%, and reducing domestic farm subsidies to no more than 5% of the value of production. The U.S. also sought elimination of export subsidies. The Cairns Group, a coalition of 17 agricultural exporting countries with little governmental farm support, introduced a proposal that asked for larger tariff cuts and greater market access plus elimination of trade-distorting domestic support. Proposals by less-developed countries focused on more access to developed-country markets. The Japanese proposal called for less-ambitious changes from existing WTO trade rules. The European Union (EU) did not formally make a proposal in 2002 but was judged likely to oppose ending export subsidies and domestic support in its position statement in 2003. The EU sought to restrict imports of GM foods until they were shown to be safe for consumers and the environment. The exporting states, notably the U.S., opposed restrictions on the movement of GM foods.

Agricultural Policy

Several important changes in agricultural policy occurred in 2002. The U.S. adopted new multiyear agricultural legislation formalizing the countercycle payments to farm support that had been used to supplement governmental support to American farmers since world commodity prices fell in the late 1990s. Earlier, Congress had enacted annual supplemental farm spending. The new legislation set formulas for calculating levels of support through 2007. New environmental programs were authorized in which farmers would qualify for additional subsidies for adopting environmentally friendly farming practices. Because the forecasted expenditure in support of the new laws was higher than in the past (not taking the supplemental payments into account), the new U.S. laws were seen by many to be expanding subsidy payments to American farmers and thus inconsistent with the position stated to the WTO. The U.S. came in for heavy criticism abroad.

The U.S. government also continued to promote regional trade agreements. In December a free-trade agreement was signed with Chile, the first step on a path to expand the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) into a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). About three-quarters of U.S.-Chilean agricultural trade would be tariff-free in 4 years, with all barriers gone after 12 years.

In July cuts in EU farm subsidies were proposed, and it was suggested that remaining subsidies be changed to production-neutral payments and tied to environmental objectives. That proposal generated intense resistance from farm groups. During the fall Germany and France agreed on multiyear funding of agricultural policy at current levels, an agreement that paved the way for the EU to offer membership to 10 candidate states from Central Europe in December. EU environmental ministers also hammered out rules for trade in GM foods, agreeing that at point of departure shippers must provide a list of all GM organisms in the food. Products containing more than 0.9% genetically modified material would require labels. Extensive traceability rules for food products containing GM material were also proposed. The proposals were forwarded to the European Parliament for approval.

Food Quality, Safety, and Labeling

Bipartisan legislation aimed at protecting the country’s food supply that had been quickly drawn up following the terrorist attacks and anthrax outbreaks in the U.S. in 2001 was apparently bogged down in House-Senate committee in 2002. The proposals would have increased the government inspections of food imports, required American food manufacturers to register with the federal government, given the FDA powers to halt and inspect food shipments, and allowed federal agents to inspect food company records. Not surprisingly, food manufacturers and retailers groups opposed such provisions, claiming that guaranteeing the security of the country’s food supply from terrorist tampering could be accomplished more efficiently in other ways that did not involve huge increases in federal power.

Capping a 12-year campaign, environmentalists, organic farmers, chefs, and grocers succeeded in enacting national standards for organic foods in October. The U.S. Department of Agriculture adopted new regulations and labeling criteria, including a USDA Organic Seal of Approval (seegraphic). According to the USDA, “organic” means the product is free of artificial flavours, colours, and preservatives, artificial fertilizers and sewage sludge, synthetic pesticides, irradiation, and genetically engineered ingredients. “Organic” is a more rigorous designation than “Natural,” which does not exclude pesticides, irradiation, and GM processes. Three levels of organic labels were instituted. For a product to be labeled “100% Organic,” every ingredient (except water and salt) must be organic. “Organic” means that 95% of the ingredients must be organic. A product labeled “Made with organic ingredients” must have at least 70% organic components, but the “USDA Organic” seal may not be used.

Earlier in the year Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa and chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, had inserted language into the Senate’s version of the farm bill that would, as he said, “more clearly define pasteurization,” the process that destroys bacteria in food, traditionally through heating. Henceforth, “pasteurization” would be understood to include irradiation, notably of beef, a process that was called “cold pasteurization.” Sale of irradiated foods, including meats, had been approved by the FDA in 2000, but various public interest groups were resisting implementation and expansion of food irradiation. It was not clear if Harkin’s proposals would also enjoin the federal government from banning irradiated foods in school lunch programs and similar public projects.

The McDonald’s Corp. announced in March that it planned to settle a series of lawsuits brought by vegetarian and religious organizations. These groups claimed that their members had been misled by McDonald’s announcement that in 1990 they had switched to using vegetable oils in the preparation of their french fries, when in fact the fry oils still contained some beef tallow. The fast-food giant said it would pay out $6 million to vegetarian groups and another $4 million to organizations of Hindus and Sikhs, who do not eat beef, as well as make individual monetary settlements with other claimants. In February the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency extended the grace period given to food manufacturers to dispose of any of their products that included hemp. In October 2001 the DEA had banned food products containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in hemp (and its relative, marijuana). THC is found in hemp seed oil, which is used in the preparation of snack foods.

Greece won a significant concession when the EU Commission ruled in October that henceforth only the raw-milk sheep’s cheese made in Greece could be labeled and sold as “feta.” A number of other producers in southeastern Europe and elsewhere—notably Denmark—also marketed locally made cheese as “feta,” and these countries had hoped that “feta” would be ruled a generic product name, such as “cheddar” and “brie.” Ironically, although Greece was the world’s largest producer of feta, nearly all of its output was consumed within Greece.

Personalities

A Cuban-born agricultural researcher, Pedro Sanchez, was named the recipient of the World Food Prize, an award valued at $250,000 that was established in 1986 by Norman Borlaug, the prime mover of the Green Revolution and recipient of the 1970 Nobel Prize for Peace. Sanchez had developed methods for improving the yield of poor croplands, especially in South America and Africa, by using low-tech, inexpensive techniques appropriate to the local situations. His schemes could replace the “slash-and-burn” style of agriculture that was widespread in those areas and that had resulted in the destruction of forests and the impoverishment of the soils. A former professor of soil science, Sanchez had served as director of the International Center for Research in Agroforestry in Nairobi, Kenya, and was chairman of the United Nations Task Force on World Hunger. Sanchez was preparing to accept a new position as director of tropical agriculture at the Earth Institute at Columbia University, New York City.

Global Markets in 2002

Grains, Oilseeds, and Livestock

World supplies of grain and oilseed crops fell in 2002 owing to dryness in many regions. As a result, commodity prices were higher than they had been in recent years. World crop production in the 2002 crop year was 1,810,000,000 metric tons, compared with 1,864,000,000 metric tons for crop year 2001.

World wheat production fell by more than 10 million metric tons to 569 million. Drought in the U.S. and Canada plus increasing crop area devoted to corn and oilseeds caused a 17.4% drop in U.S. and 23.8% in Canadian wheat output. Dryness also affected Southern Hemisphere wheat crops, with production in Argentina 13% less than the previous year and Australian output down more than 56%. EU output increased from 92 million to 104 million metric tons, the greatest growth in any area. World wheat trade in the 2002 crop year was 5% lower, the increase in demand being satisfied by reductions in ending stocks. The tighter global supply generated higher prices, and crop year 2002 wheat prices soared 37% above 2001 prices.

World output of coarse grains fell from 887.5 million to 861 million metric tons. Most of that decrease was attributable to the 6.3% drop in the U.S. crop, 16.7 million metric tons. By weight the Canadian crop fell less—2.8 million metric tons—but this represented a decline of 12.5%. China and the countries of the former Soviet Union showed improved production, 11 million and 26 million metric tons, respectively. Coarse grains were planted late in the year in the Southern Hemisphere and harvested early in the following year. Low precipitation reduced expectations for the 2003 harvest; forecasts for Australia were halved. World trade in coarse grains remained nearly unchanged by balancing demand and ending stocks, which totaled 144 million metric tons, compared with 174 million for crop year 2001. World prices rose 22% as supplies fell.

World rice output was about 17 million metric tons (milled basis)—or 4.2%—lower for the year. Most of the decline—14 million metric tons—occurred in India, where a below-normal crop followed an above-average 2001 crop. World trade rose by 1.6%. Global use fell less than 1%, so ending stocks adjusted by falling from 132 million metric tons to 105 million. Prices remained steady compared with the previous year.

Global oilseed production was slightly lower in crop year 2002, owing largely to a 7% reduction in the U.S. soybean crop. Increased foreign output, especially in South America, offset the decline in U.S. production. Ending stock reduction for oilseeds allowed slightly expanded meal and vegetable oil production and trade. The average annual soybean price strengthened by about 24%.

Global beef and pork output rose slightly—2.8%—while trade increased to allow a 7.4% increase in consumption. Beginning in late 2001 Japan, the world’s major beef importer, experienced outbreaks of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in four animals, and consumers reacted by sharply reducing beef consumption. During 2002, when the “mad-cow” disease did not spread, the government removed the infected cattle; efforts to convince Japanese consumers of the safety of imported beef met with some success, and beef consumption again began to rise. Meanwhile, under threat of punitive fines, France lifted the ban on purchases of British beef that it had imposed in 1996 during the BSE crisis in Great Britain. The U.K. was also declared free of foot-and-mouth disease in January, and exports of British sheep and goats resumed in February.

Poultry meat output was up 3% for the year, although trade in poultry meat reversed its recent growth trend and fell to six million tons, a drop of 3.3%. World milk production rose by 1.4%.

Tropical Products

World sugar production in 2002–03 was 139 million metric tons, 5 million above 2001–02. Brazilian output continued to expand, and EU output recovered from the previous year’s low. China and Russia, both major import markets, enjoyed increased production. World trade was 3.4 million metric tons—7.8%—greater, with Brazil, the EU, and Thailand the largest exporting countries. Because of the increased output from China and Russia, exports grew notably in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Consumption continued to expand as it had for the past decade. Sugar prices were weaker than in 2001; the lowest prices were registered early in 2002 but recovered somewhat later.

World coffee production in 2002–03 was 125 million bags, up 12% from the 2001–02 season, mostly owing to increased output in Brazil. World trade was up roughly 4%, with Brazilian exports 15% above year-earlier levels. The weakness of the Brazilian currency aided the competitiveness of its coffee in international markets. With consumption only 1% greater, coffee prices continued to be low in 2002. A report in September from the U.K.-based charitable organization Oxfam expressed concern about the growing discrepancy between the income of the world’s coffee farmers, who received on average 53 cents per kilogram (1 kg = 2.2 lb) for their coffee beans, and the revenues of the coffee companies—especially the five leading multinationals: Procter & Gamble Co., Nestlé, Kraft Foods, Sara Lee Corp., and Tchibo Holding AG—which sold the coffee for an average of $7.92 per kilogram. The problem had been magnified, the report said, by a glut of coffee in the past five years and a corresponding drop of some $4 billion in the value of coffee exports.

Investors’ anxieties over the violence and civil war in Côte d’Ivoire, which grew about 40% of the world’s cocoa, were reflected in a rise in cocoa prices of more than 60% over the year, reaching levels not seen since 1986.

Fisheries

Figures produced by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization indicated that in 2000, the latest year for which figures were available, total production for the world’s capture fisheries registered a rise of 1.76% over 1999 to 94,848,674 metric tons. Inland-water production increased by 3.59% to 8,801,070 metric tons, while marine output rose by 1.58% to record a total of 86,047,604 metric tons landed. Aquaculture production rose by 6.39% during the same period to 35,585,111 metric tons. (SeeGraph).

The leading catching nation was again China, with 16,987,325 metric tons, although this was a 1.47% reduction from the 1999 total of 17,240,032 metric tons caught. Peru, the second largest producer, with 10,658,620 metric tons, reaped the rewards of improved anchoveta (Peruvian anchovy) stocks to achieve a 26.46% increase in landings over the previous year. (See .) Graph

Anchoveta remained the world’s top species in terms of volume, recording a 29.27% overall increase to 11,276,357 metric tons landed. (SeeTable.) Capelin, which rose from 13th place in 1999 to 9th in 2000, showed an increase of 60.9% in landings and helped to boost the Icelandic catch to about 1,980,000 metric tons in 2000, a significant 14.2% increase over 1999 that pushed Iceland up to 11th place among catching nations. Problems with the Alaska pollock (walleye pollock) resource in the North Pacific was reflected in a 10% drop in landings during 2000, although it still maintained its place as the second most numerous commercial fish species landed, with 3,024,796 metric tons.

Percent

change

1998

1999

2000

from 1999

Anchoveta (Peruvian anchovy)

1,729,064

8,723,265

11,276,357

29.27

Alaska pollock (walleye pollock)

4,049,223

3,362,473

3,024,796

-10.04

Atlantic herring

2,422,136

2,403,835

2,370,020

-1.41

Skipjack tuna

1,888,856

1,988,276

1,890,133

-4.94

Japanese anchovy

2,093,888

1,820,259

1,725,685

-5.20

Chilean jack mackerel

2,025,758

1,423,447

1,540,494

8.22

Largehead hairtail

1,436,303

1,419,404

1,479,848

4.26

Chub mackerel

1,924,623

1,946,268

1,455,796

-25.20

Capelin

985,498

904,799

1,455,795

60.90

Blue whiting (poutassou)

1,185,003

1,318,628

1,419,911

7.68

Total global exports of fish and fish products increased in 2000 to $55.2 billion, a gain of almost 4.5% over 1999. Thailand continued to be the main fish-exporting country, with $4.4 billion in exports. China rose to number two, with $3.6 billion in fish-related exports, an impressive growth of nearly 22% from 1999. The fisheries exporting industry in China specialized in importing raw material and reprocessing it for export at increased value.

Fish imports reached a new record of $60 billion in 2000. Developed countries accounted for about 80% of total imports in value terms. Japan, which had experienced a decline in imports during 1998 and 1999, was the largest importer of fishery products, responsible for some 26% of the worldwide total. The European Union again relied heavily on imports for its fish supply. Most euro zone countries, however, reported a lower value of fishery imports in 2000, with the exception of Spain, the world’s third leading importer. The United States, the fourth largest exporter, also was the second biggest importer of fishery products. Expanding shrimp imports accounted for much of the increase in imports of fishery products to the U.S. in 2000.